Just weeks after the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined President Barack Obama at the USS Arizona Memorial. Abe is the first Japanese prime minister to visit the memorial , which marks the resting place of the over 1,000 U.S. service members who died in Japans surprise 1941 attack.

The image of two world leaders joined in remembrance and reconciliation was both historic and symbolic. Obama emphasized how far U.S.-Japan relations have come during his remarks at the memorial on Tuesday. He lauded the nations for choosing friendship despite their history and called for inclusivity and measured judgment.

I hope that together, we send a message to the world that there is more to be won in peace than in war. That reconciliation carries more rewards than retribution, he said.

Some have interpreted Obamas message on Tuesday as a thinly veiled shot at president-elect Donald Trump , whose campaign proposals included banning Muslims from entering the U.S. and building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

It is here that we remember that even when hatred burns hottest, the tug of tribalism is at its most primal, we must resist the urge to turn inward, Obama said Tuesday at the memorial. We must resist the urge to demonize those who are different.